House probe sought into controversies surrounding DOT’s new campaign

MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-list has filed a resolution seeking to investigate the controversies surrounding the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the use of stock footage or non-original clips in its “Love the Philippines” promotion video.

ACT Party-list Rep. France Castro electronically filed the resolution on July 8, directing the House of Representatives through its committees on tourism and good government and public accountability, to probe the recent fiasco on the tourism video, which used stock footage from Thailand, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates accessible in Storyblocks, a rapid video creation platform.

“It is imperative that we shed light on this ‘Frasco fiasco’ to ensure that public funds are being utilized appropriately and that there is no undue influence from individuals associated with the Marcos regime,” Castro said in a statement.

Last July 2, DDB Philippines, the agency that prepared and published the promotion video, apologized to DOT and admitted the use of stock footage clips in the audio-visual presentation under the latter’s newly-launched campaign, worth P49 million.

READ: DOT probing alleged use of stock footage in ‘Love the Philippines’ video

Although DOT and DDB Philippines repeatedly assured that “no public funds were released or would be released, to fund the video,” Castro said there is still a need “for transparency and accountability, as millions of taxpayers’ money are involved in the issue.”

“Any misuse or mismanagement of public funds should not be tolerated, especially given the pressing needs of the Filipino people in these challenging times,” she added.

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